Blackfeather Woods There might have been a time

The yearling prowls about the forest floor, heavy footfalls striking the ground in abandon as frustratingly he quickens to a lope. The time has come for him to consider who may lead the dark woods, should he fail to survive the battle ahead. As a principle of trust, he trusted no one within the walls of the dark woods, and rightly so. But the matter of his successor did not rely on trust, rather, who was best equipped for it. It had been the case upon his ascension, that while Vaati was surely not qualified to lead, he had been the best candidate for the job. The only one willing to commit to the role and carry its burden. 

Potema and Cicero were out of the picture. Miraak, too old. Koume and Kotake were flight-risks, Astrid... too cautionary. Perhaps he would have named his brother the inheritor, had he stuck around. The process of elimination left only Kove, who he knew nothing of by neither had an issue with. Latching onto the scent of the Conjurer, Vaati finds the man sooner than expected, lingering on the outskirts of the territory. "Kove." He barks lowly, calling his name out like a greeting rather than a summon. The flash of red against the white of the other's shoulder reminds him of the initiation into the Dark Brotherhood, the cult within the dark woods that rarely existed at the moment. A mark Vaati was eager to get, that solidified his claim to the Dark Master title. However, one thing at a time. "I've been looking to name a second leader within the dark council, as there is no one to take up the mantle of Dark Master should I cease to exist in the coming weeks." He refers to the war, unable to foretell his fate. "My mother is not capable at the moment. The rank of Listener needs an occupant and you are the only choice." A choice he really did not have a way around. They do not know each other except by name, but for the sake of the woods, would need to get over the lack of familiarity with the threat of extinction on the horizon. Vaati, placed sitting two feet apart from the man, turns to his elder without much intensity in his stare. "Will you accept?"